Page 10 of The Friendly Fall

“What did you think of her?” Mom raises a dark brow, scooting a little closer to me. “Was she nice?”

“I think she was mostly just embarrassed.” I chuckle, reaching under the counter to grab the inventory chart. “We need to be focused on inventory though. You know, now that the weather’s cooled off, everyone wants to start on those fall projects.”

Mom lets out a defeated sigh and then pauses. “Maybe you should fix Ms. Willis’s ramp.”

“Yeah, I’d really like to. She’s just a very stubborn woman. I don’t want to push her.” I shrug as I open a drawer, digging for a pen. This is a hardware store, we always seem to have everything anyone could ever need…

Except for a pen.

I let out an “ah ha!” as soon as I find one.

“Maybe you and Daniel should just go fix it in the middle of the night. She’d never know.”

I burst into a fit of laughter. “Yeah, because the sound of power tools wouldn’t terrify the woman. That’s just asking for trouble.”

Mom giggles, her slender face lighting up with amusement. “She’d beat you over the head with a broom.”

“Yeah … and talk about a terrible second impression that would make on Eliza,” I add, not realizing my mistake until my mom’s expression shifts.

“Ooh.” Mom beams. “You like her!”

“I don’t even know her,” I correct her, reminding myself of the same thing.

It’s been a long time since I’ve dated anyone, and even then, my relationships never got too serious. Ever since I took over the hardware store after my dad passed away, I haven’t had much time for dating.

And I’m okay with that … mostly.

I mean, therearetimes I long for more, especially now that Daniel is married with kids.

“Well, you should get to know her.” Mom grabs the second inventory clipboard and pulls a pen out of the pocket of her faded jeans. “I think it’d be good for you to find someone. And it’s not just me—Mara wants that for you too, you know. She asks me all the time if you’re seeing someone.”

“Yeah, I know,” I mutter, thinking of my baby sister. She’s nearly four years younger than me, but she’s already got a family of her own. I love my niece and nephew, too, and they might be another reason that I’ve startedconsideringthe idea of my own personal future outside of work.

It would be nice to have a family of my own.

“I just think that you should stay open to it,” she says with a shrug, following me as I lift up the bar to the counter.

I head toward the automotive section of the meager hardware store and begin counting through the fuel filters. We have a little bit of everything at Walters Hardware—something my dad always took great pride in.

“Are you gonna try to see her again?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be on theotherside of the store?” I tease my mom, giving her a look. “As much as I’d love to keep chatting about the new girl in town, we need to get this done. I have a shift at the fire station tomorrow, and I promised Daniel I’d help with the 4-H float for the Pumpkin Festival this year.”

She smiles sheepishly, holding up her hands in a gesture of surrender. “Okay, okay. I’ll let it go. I’ll get to work. You’re a good kid, Nick.”

“I’m thirty-two, Mom, but thanks,” I joke, getting back to marking off the inventory as she walks away. I focus on work for the next fifteen minutes, though my head keeps coming back to Eliza. I don’t know what it is about her that’s so …appealing.

Maybe I should get to know her.

I nearly chuckle at the thought. At this rate, I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t avoid me like the plague considering she wasbeyondembarrassed when I had to pull her out of that hole. I hope she knows that falling through rotted wood is nothing to be embarrassed about.

As I make my way to the end of the aisle, the doorbell chimes and I turn my attention to the customer who just walked in.

Marilyn Willis.

Surely, she’s not going to try and fix the ramp herself.

“Afternoon, Marilyn,” Mom greets her, a bright grin on her face. “Nick told me about what happened with your granddaughter. Is her leg okay?”

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